Today’s datacenter is responsible for delivering multiple application services. In a typical datacenter,
all-flash arrays (AFAs) are often deployed for one or two workloads. While all-flash storage arrays like
the Violin Memory 7300 Flash Storage Platform may provide a large number of I/O operations per second (IOPS)
to the datacenter, customers have been reluctant to stress these devices because the IOPS numbers quoted on
product datasheets are not representative of how real-world workloads behave. In many cases, the real-world
workloads involve larger block sizes than the 4K block sizes typically used to obtain the datasheet IOPS numbers,
and often these workloads vary the block size as the work progresses. These real-world workloads have variable
and sometimes unpredictable effects on the storage array as compared to synthetic workloads.

Violin Memory commissioned Demartek to test the Violin Memory 7300 FSP by running four workloads against it at
the same time. Demartek ran web servers, Microsoft SQL Server (MSSQL) OLTP, Microsoft Exchange Jetstress, and
Microsoft SharePoint on the storage volumes provided by the Violin Memory 7300 FSP. The flash in the Violin
Memory 7300 FSP takes the form of the Violin Intelligent Memory Module (VIMM), a key component of the Flash
Fabric Architecture™ that is designed to perform more work in parallel than a storage array built around the
typical SSD form factor. This parallelism helps make Violin Memory storage systems capable of supporting
multiple concurrent workloads.

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